Insomnia by Stephen King (Review)

In this brief article, we will be discussing Insomnia by Stephen King, the theme of Insomnia by Stephen King, the summary of Insomnia by Stephen King, and more information about Insomnia by Stephen King.

What is Insomnia by Stephen King?

 Insomnia by Stephen King is the 34th book published by this author it was his 28th novel, and the 23rd written under his own name in his horror series.

This kind of book was released by Viking on September 15, 1994, and is associated with Stephen King’s Dark Tower series in his horror galore. 

Like Rose Madder, this kind of book draws heavily from Greek mythology for its metaphysical elements.

This kind of book is set in the town of Derry, Maine which might be familiar to you who have watched the It series or even read it.

Summary of Insomnia by Stephen King

This kind of book has been considered a spiritual successor to the It series since there is the implication that this kind of story happened in the same town that It appeared.

In The Dark Half, readers got a book that bordered on the metafictional, followed by two novels, Gerald’s Game and Dolores Claiborne, that showcased King’s desire to represent female characters better in his horror series.

Ralph Roberts who is a septuagenarian widower and this book’s main character, shocked readers a little. There aren’t a lot of books with older main characters in them. 

In this kind of book, readers have been introduced to adult protagonists but most perceptions that are associate with the concept of their lives extended only to a faint rock’n’roll version of middle age in life.

These elderly longed for their youth, tried to recapture it which is a theme in so many of King’s books. 

But not in Insomnia since they’re older and getting the hell on with it. At first, some readers didn’t care about Ralph or Lois who is his romantic interest and co-lead but then, suddenly, readers did. 

A large chunk of the book reads like a standalone novel appealing to the new fans King had picked up with his previous couple of books where people who wanted less in the way of schlock monsters and more of his insights into humanity as it is.

And then, for most readers, this kind of book got suddenly interesting. 

Ralph suffers from the insomnia of the title of the book and thanks to his lack of sleep, one day he begins to see things in the dark.

He glimpses strange auras around people that trail off into the sky like strings or, as he comes to think of them, as lifelines and then he begins to see strange and shrunken men dressed as doctors, creeping around at night bringing huge pairs of scissors. 

The little bald doctors who are associated with the ancient Greek conception of the Fates who are killing people by cutting their strings which are their lifelines.

The strange bald doctors aren’t stock horror villains in this kind of book. 

These kinds of creatures are really serving to bridge the divide between the concepts of purpose and random which are two key notions in King’s Dark Tower series and a less high-profile constant throughout much of his later work in his horror series.

The theme of free will versus some form of higher predestination runs through a huge amount of King’s books, coming to a head in the Dark Tower series with this kind of book. 

In this kind of book, it was laid bare and when most readers first read it, King sort of lost most of them.

There’s a lengthy and important subplot concerning abortions and the pro-choice camp, and this kind of book wanders into total ka-is-a-wheel and heavy-referencing-for-the-fanbase territory in this case. 

This is also where King introduces the Crimson King who would later drive much of the action in the final Dark Tower novels in the horror series. That’s when the truth of this book is revealed to the reader. 

This kind of book not a standalone. Instead, this kind of book is a Dark Tower novel, almost more so than even The Gunslinger in King’s horror series.

Ralph gets the ending that King promised him, almost on the very first page where he finally gets cured of his sleeping sickness which was prominent in this kind of book.

Relation of Insomnia by Stephen King to other books by the same author 

This book is a Dark Tower book, more so than perhaps any other non-main series text in King’s horror series.

Readers got the Crimson King which is recognized here as the Kingfisher and Patrick Danville who would be hugely important in the final Dark Tower books and there are massive thematic connections, specifically regarding Purpose and Random, the grammar of the Dark Tower series of this King horror. 

This book is also largely indebted to It which made this book set in the same town only eight years later and considers the events of that book.

There is a good argument to be made for this book being something of a spiritual sequel where both books feature the same themes and there are loud echoes of the earlier book in this series. 

At the beginning of this book, most readers said that the world wanted more Pennywise in the Kingfisher where readers have a creature strongly associated with that original evil in ways that suggest the two are more than just acquaintances in the horror series.

Review of Insomnia by Stephen King

There are a lot of things to be said about this kind of book in Stephen King’s horror collection.

If you were born in the time that this was still new, you will be scared til you are about to go to sleep at night.

In this case, you will be getting insomnia because of this reading this novel as most readers have felt in the day.

This kind of book has been compared with other noteworthy works such as It and Pet Sematary which are known by most people today as popular horror movies that most people would like to watch but not read.

There is a lot to be said about this kind of book since most of the contents are more of the fact about our human maturity.

Some would even denote that this kind of book was hinting at what Stephen King might be feeling when he was in his middle age years.

After all, writers are typically putting themselves in their writing outputs as a cathartic relief from their experiences in life that are quite traumatic for them.

This kind of book has also been great for people who have recently lost a loved one because of old age which can make them understand some aspects of this stage in life.

Some readers have also admired that there are some aspects of a feminist activity that has happened in the book. Most female readers have been happy about this kind of part.

This kind of book has also shown the realism that comes from talking with creatures that are reminiscent of creatures in Greek Mythology.

This is because this kind of book has shown the dialogue between the creatures as something not known by the character who is trying to comprehend if what he is seeing true in his eyes or his eyes have become deluded due to old age. 

The author even made some opinions about this kind of book where he confessed that he wrote this book fast.

This is because the author was suffering from insomnia at that time which is a very popular sleeping disorder as well. 

This kind of situation was really coincidental to the fact of what the character was physically and mentally experiencing in this kind of book.

This is why most readers are always fond of King’s active respondence when it comes to listening what his readers are talking about his books. 

King also admitted that he loved to take long walks alongside Maine’s rural routes so it’s no coincidence that animals getting run over might have been on his mind which might be his inspiration for Pet Sematary and other books that have its settings in Maine.

But it’s fascinating that five years before he received five operations in ten days, almost had both legs amputated, and wound up experiencing the worst pain of his life, this author wrote this kind of book in which the dispensers of extensive pain and misery are three men he describes as doctors and that their emotions display cold dispassionate regard for human suffering in his life.

Viking went out with a first printing of 1.5 million copies of Insomnia when this kind of book debuted in September 1994 and this book spent three weeks at number one on the bestseller list, ultimately remaining on the list for sixteen weeks which was very impressive at that time.

More importantly, this kind of situation was made to promote the book King set out on his motorcycle to tour independent bookstores across the country. 

This kind of experience would resurface two books later, forming the spine of one of his better novels of this period, Desperation which you should read to feel the beauty of the horror fiction of Stephen King.

Conclusion 

In this brief article, we have discussed Insomnia by Stephen King, the theme of Insomnia by Stephen King, the summary of Insomnia by Stephen King, and more information about Insomnia by Stephen King.

If you have any questions about Insomnia by Stephen King, please let us know and the team will gladly answer your queries.

FAQs: insomnia stephen king

Citations

Stephen King Wiki. Insomnia (novel).

The Guardian. Rereading Stephen King, chapter 32: Insomnia.

Tor.com. The Great Stephen King Reread: Insomnia.